Projector, stack display system, image display method, and program

ABSTRACT

A projector includes a light source; a spatial light modulator; a signal processing unit that includes a tone map unit that performs a luminance gradation conversion of an input video data according to a tone map indicating a relationship of an output luminance with respect to an input luminance; a luminance acquiring unit that obtains a maximum luminance of a projection surface of the modulated light; and a control unit that controls an amount of light of the light source and sets the tone map. When the maximum luminance of the projection surface is equal to or greater than a first threshold value indicating a maximum luminance of the input video data, the control unit sets, to the tone map unit, a tone map in which a maximum value of the output luminance is set to be the first threshold value.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a projector, a stack display system, avideo display method, and a program.

BACKGROUND ART

Recently, mainly in television, an HDR (High Dynamic Range) display, inwhich a luminance area is enlarged, has been performed with absoluteluminance. For example, in the HDR display of a direct-view display suchas a liquid crystal display, the display of the absolute luminance tomatch the maximum luminance of the display is performed.

The HDR display of the direct view display will be briefly describedbelow.

FIG. 1 is a diagram explaining an HDR display of a direct-view display.In FIG. 1, the vertical axis indicates the luminance (nits) of thedisplay, and the horizontal axis indicates the luminance (nits) of thereal-world.

As shown in FIG. 1, the HDR is obtained by expanding 100 nits, which isthe highest luminance of the SDR (Standard Dynamic Range), to 10,000nits, and in this embodiment, an HDR luminance expansion region is addedto the SDR luminance region.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a signal processing flowfrom the camera of the source device to the display of the sink device.Here, “16-bit decimal” means a numeric representation of 16-bit lengthusing floating point, and “10 or 12-bit integer” means a numericrepresentation of 10-bit or 12-bit length using integers.

Referring to FIG. 2, source device 100 includes camera 101, grading unit102 and OETF (photoelectric conversion) unit 103. Sink device 200includes EOTF (electro-optic conversion) unit 201, tone mapping unit 202and display 203.

In source device 100, grading unit 102 performs grading, which isadjustment of luminance and color, for the output video signal of camera101. OETF unit 103 performs OETF, which is an inverse EOTF, on theoutput signal of grading unit 102 to quantize the luminance and convertthe output signal into a video data. Here, the output signal of gradingunit 102 has linear characteristic 104 a. For OETF, characteristic 104 bthat is defined by a curve whose slope gradually decreases is used. Theoutput video data of OETF unit 103 also has characteristic 104 c that isdefined by a curve similar to characteristic 104 b. Source device 100transmits, to sink device 200, a video signal that includes the outputvideo data (10 or 12-bit integers) of OETF unit 103, EOTF information,and metadata.

In sink device 200, the output video data of OETF unit 103 and EOTFinformation are supplied to EOTF unit 201, and the metadata is suppliedto tone mapping unit 202. EOTF unit 201 performs inverse quantization byperforming EOTF based on EOTF information with respect to the outputvideo data of OETF unit 103. Tone mapping unit 202, with respect to theoutput signal of EOTF unit 201, performs tone mapping (luminancegradation conversion) in accordance with the maximum luminance ofdisplay 203. Display 203 displays an image based on the output videodata of tone mapping unit 202. Here, characteristic 204 a that isdefined by a curve whose slope gradually increases is used for EOTF. Theoutput-signal of EOTF unit 201 has linear characteristic 204 b. Tonemapping unit 202 uses tone map 204 c that is adjusted so that themaximum value of the output luminance becomes the maximum luminance ofdisplay 203.

An EOTF for HDR include a PQ (Perceptual Quantization) curve which isdefined by absolute luminance, and a gamma for HDR and HLG (Hybrid LogGamma) which are defined by relative luminance. On the other hand, as anEOTF for SDR, there is a gamma for SDR which is defined by relativeluminance.

The meta-data includes a MaxCLL (Maximum Content Light Level) thatindicates the maximum luminance in the contents and a MaxFALL (MaximumFrame-average Light Level) that indicates the maximum value of theintra-frame mean luminance. When the maximum luminance of the display isequal to or higher than the MaxCLL, all the luminance contained in thevideo data can be expressed. However, when the maximum luminance of thedisplay is less than the MaxCLL, it is not possible to express all ofthe luminance included in the video data.

FIG. 3 shows an exemplary tone map when the MaxCLL is 4000 nits and themaximum luminance of the display is 500 nits.

In the tone map shown in FIG. 3, the gradation range of the lowluminance side (dark side) has a linear gradation characteristic, andthe gradation range of the high luminance side (bright portion) has agradation characteristic that is rounded to the maximum luminance of thedisplay. Here, the gradation characteristics so rounded to the maximumluminance of the display is, for example, a gradation characteristic inwhich, in a predetermined gradation range, the amount of change in theoutput luminance is smaller than the amount of change in the inputluminance According to this tone map, the dark side can be displayedaccording to the absolute luminance. On the bright side, the partexceeding the maximum luminance of the display cannot be represented,but the display can be performed with absolute luminance.

As described above, in the direct view display, it is possible toperform the HDR display with absolute luminance.

On the other hand, in the projector, for example, depending on theinstallation situation, the distance from the projection lens to thescreen changes, or the screens whose characteristics (e.g., reflectioncharacteristics) are different from each other are used. In this case,since the luminance of the projection surface changes according to thechange in the projection situation, it is difficult to perform the HDRdisplay with absolute luminance.

Therefore, a projector for performing the gradation conversion processof the HDR image in accordance with the luminance of the projectionsurface has been proposed (see Patent Document 1).

The projector described in Patent Document 1, which is for projecting anHDR image corresponding to an image signal input from an externaldevice, includes a luminance calculation means for calculating theluminance of the projection image according to the projection state anda gradation conversion processing means for performing a gradationconversion process of the HDR image in accordance with the luminancethat is calculated by the luminance calculation means. As the projectionstate, the projection distance and the reflection characteristics of thescreen are considered.

LITERATURE OF THE PRIOR ART Patent Literature

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2017-200104

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention

However, in the projector described in Patent Document 1, it does nottake into account the relationship between the maximum luminance of theprojection surface and the maximum luminance of the image data (e.g.,MaxCLL). Therefore, when the maximum luminance of the projection surfaceis larger than the maximum luminance of the image data (e.g., MaxCLL),the tone map must be used to reduce the gradation. In this case, thelight source will emit more light than necessary, as a result, the lifeof the light source is shortened.

An object of the present invention is to provide a projector, a stackdisplay system, an image display method, and a program capable ofsolving the above problems and extending the life of a light source.

Means for Solving the Problem

In order to achieve the above object, a projector of the presentinvention includes:

a light source;

a spatial light modulator that modulates light from the light source toemit a modulated light;

a signal processing unit that comprises a tone map unit that performs aluminance gradation conversion of an input video data according to atone map indicating a relationship of an output luminance with respectto an input luminance and that drives the spatial light modulator basedon an output video data of the tone map unit;

a projection lens unit that projects the modulated light on a screen;

a luminance acquiring unit that obtains a maximum luminance of aprojection surface of the modulated light; and

a control unit that controls an amount of light of the light source andsets the tone map,

wherein:

when the maximum luminance of the projection surface is equal to orgreater than a first threshold value indicating a maximum luminance ofthe input video data, the control unit sets, to the tone map unit, atone map in which a maximum value of the output luminance is set to bethe first threshold value, and when the maximum luminance of theprojection surface is larger than the first threshold value, the controlunit reduces the amount of light of the light source.

A stack display system of the present invention includes a mainprojector and at least one sub projector, each comprising theabove-mentioned projector, wherein the main projector and the subprojector project overlap and project images of each other on a screen,

wherein a control unit of the main projector acquires informationrelating to a maximum luminance of a projection surface acquired by thesub projector and creates a tone map of each of its own projector andthe sub projector based on information relating to the maximum luminanceof the projection surface acquired by the own projector and informationrelating to the maximum luminance of the projection surface acquiredfrom the sub projector.

An video display method of the present invention is a video displaymethod performed by a projector that includes a spatial light modulatorthat modulates light from a light source to emit a modulated light and atone map unit that performs a luminance gradation conversion of an inputvideo data according to a tone map indicating a relationship of anoutput luminance with respect to an input luminance, the projector beingconfigured to drive the spatial light modulator based on an output videodata of the tone map unit and to project the modulated light on ascreen, the method comprising:

obtaining a maximum luminance of a projection surface of the modulatedlight;

when the maximum luminance of the projection surface is equal to orgreater than a first threshold value indicating a maximum luminance ofthe input video data, setting, to the tone map unit, a tone map in whicha maximum value of the input luminance is set to be the first thresholdvalue; and

when the maximum luminance of the projection surface is larger than thefirst threshold value, reducing an amount of light of the light source.

A program of the present invention, which is executed by a computer of aprojector that includes a spatial light modulator that modulates lightfrom a light source to emit a modulated light and a tone map unit thatperforms a luminance gradation conversion of an input video dataaccording to a tone map indicating a relationship of an output luminancewith respect to an input luminance, the projector being configured todrive the spatial light modulator based on an output video data of thetone map unit and to project the modulated light on a screen, isconfigured to cause the computer to execute the steps of:

obtaining a maximum luminance of a projection surface of the modulatedlight;

when the maximum luminance of the projection surface is equal to orgreater than a first threshold value indicating a maximum luminance ofthe input video data, setting, to the tone map unit, a tone map in whicha maximum value of the input luminance is set to be the first thresholdvalue; and

when the maximum luminance of the projection surface is larger than thefirst threshold value, reducing an amount of light of the light source.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram explaining an HDR display of a direct-view display.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a signal processingflow from a camera of a source device to a display of a sink device.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary tone map when a MaxCLL is4000 nits and the maximum luminance of the display is 500 nits.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a projectoraccording to a first example embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a projectoraccording to a second example embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6A is a diagram explaining a characteristic of a diffuse screen.

FIG. 6B is a diagram explaining a characteristic of a regression-typescreen.

FIG. 6C is a diagram explaining a characteristic of a reflective screen.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the storagestate of a characteristic data of the screen.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which theprojector is installed so as to face the screen.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a projectionsurface four corner luminance calculation unit.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a projection state when alens shift operation is performed in a state in which the projector isinstalled so as to face the screen.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a tone map creationprocess.

FIG. 12 is a diagram explaining an example of a tone map created by thetone map creation process.

FIG. 13A is a diagram explaining a tone map of projector PJ1 alone.

FIG. 13B is a diagram explaining a tone map of projector PJ2 alone.

FIG. 13C is a diagram explaining a tone map when the tone maps shown inFIGS. 13A and 13B are stacked.

FIG. 13D is a diagram illustrating a tonal map for the total projectionsurface luminance of projectors PJ1 and PJ2.

FIG. 13E is a diagram explaining a tone map of projector PJ1 createdbased on the tone map shown in FIG. 13D.

FIG. 13F is a diagram explaining a tone map of projector PJ2 createdbased on the tone map shown in FIG. 13D.

FIG. 14A is a diagram explaining a tone map of projector PJ1 alone.

FIG. 14B is a diagram explaining a tone map of projector PJ2 alone.

FIG. 14C is a diagram explaining a tone map when the tone maps shown inFIGS. 14A and 14B are stacked.

FIG. 14D is a diagram illustrating a tonal map for the total projectionsurface luminance of projectors PJ1 and PJ2.

FIG. 14E is a diagram explaining a tone map of projector PJ1 createdbased on the tone map shown in FIG. 14D.

FIG. 14F is a diagram explaining a tone map of projector PJ2 createdbased on the tone map shown in FIG. 14D.

FIG. 15A is a schematic diagram illustrating the luminance of the fourcorners of the projection surface of projector PJ1 and the projectionsurface maximal luminance.

FIG. 15B is a schematic diagram illustrating the luminance of the fourcorners of the projection surface of projector PJ2 and the projectionsurface maximal luminance.

FIG. 15C is a schematic view illustrating the total projection surfacemaximum luminance at the time of stack displaying.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a projectoraccording to a third example embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram illustrating a relationship between aprojected image area and a projected image area after distortioncorrection when projecting an image on a screen that is not facing theprojector.

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram illustrating a relationship between aprojected image area and a projected image area after distortioncorrection when projecting an image on a screen that is not facing theprojector.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of aprojection surface four corner luminance calculation unit.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a projectoraccording to a fourth example embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21A is a schematic diagram illustrating the luminance of the fourcorners of the projection surface of projector PJ1 and the projectionsurface maximal luminance.

FIG. 21B is a schematic diagram illustrating the luminance of the fourcorners of the projection surface of projector PJ2 and the projectionsurface maximal luminance.

FIG. 21C is a schematic view illustrating the total projection surfacemaximum luminance at the time of stack displaying.

EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

Next, example embodiments of the present invention will be describedwith reference to the drawings.

First Example Embodiment

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a projectoraccording to the first example embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the projector includes control unit 30, lightsource 31, spatial light modulator 32, projection lens unit 33,luminance acquiring unit 34 and signal processing unit 36.

Spatial light modulator 32 modulates light from light source 31, andemits a modulated light. Signal processing unit 36 includes tone mapunit 35 that performs the luminance gradation conversion of an inputvideo data according to the tone map that indicates the relationship ofthe output luminance with respect to the input luminance, and drivesspatial light modulator 32 based on the output video data of tone mapunit 35. Projection lens unit 33 projects the modulated light on screen37. Luminance acquiring unit 34 acquires the maximum luminance of theprojection surface of the modulated light.

Control unit 30 controls the amount of light of light source 31, andsets the tone map. When the maximum luminance of the projection surfaceis equal to or greater than the first threshold value that indicates themaximum luminance of the input video data, control unit 30 sets, to tonemap unit 35, the tone map that is set so that the maximum value of theoutput luminance becomes the first threshold value. When the maximumluminance of the projection surface is greater than the first thresholdvalue, control unit 30 reduces the amount of light of light source 31.

According to the projector of the present example embodiment, since themaximum luminance of the projection surface is acquired and the tone mapis set according to the maximum luminance, it is possible to perform aHDR display according to the projection situation.

In addition, since the relationship between the maximum luminance of theprojection surface and the maximum luminance of the video data (e.g.,MaxCLL) is taken into account to create the tone map corresponding tothe maximum luminance of the input video data, the tone map suitable forthe input video data can be set.

Furthermore, when the maximum luminance of the projection surface isgreater than the maximum luminance of the video data (e.g., MaxCLL),since the amount of light of light source 31 is reduced, it is possibleto prevent the emission of more light amount than required. As a result,the life of light source 31 can be extended.

Second Example Embodiment

FIG. 5 is a block diagram indicating a configuration of a projectoraccording to the second example embodiment of the present invention. InFIG. 5, a unidirectional arrow is a brief indication of the direction offlow of a signal (e.g., data, information, etc.) and does not precludebi-directionality.

Referring to FIG. 5, projector 1 includes signal processing unit 3,projection unit 4, HDR display control unit 5 and communication controlunit 6. Signal processing unit 3 receives the video signal from sourcedevice 2 and processes the video signal. Projection unit 4 projects theimage processed by signal processing unit 3. HDR display control unit 5controls the operation of each of signal processing unit 3 andprojection unit 4 and can, for example, perform the HDR display.

When performing a display operation in conjunction with anotherprojector such as stack display, communication control unit 6 canmutually communicate with the other projector to exchange necessarydata.

Signal processing unit 3 includes input interface (I/F) unit 7, EDIDstorage unit 8, video processing unit 9, tone map unit 10, projectionsurface luminance correcting unit 11 and spatial light modulator drivingunit 12.

EDID storage unit 8 holds information such as a EDID.

Input I/F unit 7 receives a video signal from source device 2. The videosignal from source device 2 includes video data and HDR-relatedinformation (e.g., EOTF information and metadata, etc). Input I/F unit 7acquires video data and information on HDR display from the receivedvideo signal. Input I/F unit 7 supplies the video data to videoprocessing unit 9, and supplies information regarding the HDR display tovideo processing unit 9 and HDR display control unit 5.

Furthermore, input I/F unit 7 functions as an I/F for EDID storage unit8. For example, source device 2 can access EDID storage unit 8 via inputI/F unit 7.

Video processing unit 9 performs an EOTF process on the video data frominput I/F unit 7 based on EOTF information included in the HDR-relatedinformation acquired by input I/F unit 7. For the video data to whichthe EOTF process is performed, image processing unit 9 also performs aresolution conversion process to convert the resolution of the imageindicated by the video data to the resolution of the display device ofprojector 1, an image quality adjustment process to adjust the imagequality of the image, and the like.

Tone map unit 10 performs the tone mapping (luminance gradationconversion) according to the tone map for the output video data of videoprocessing unit 9.

Projection surface luminance correcting unit 11 adjusts the gain of eachpixel of the output video data of tone map unit 10 in order to correctthe unevenness of the luminance of the projection surface.

Spatial light modulator driving unit 12, based on the output video dataof projection surface luminance correcting unit 11, generates a drivesignal to drive the spatial light modulator of projection unit 4.

Projection unit 4 includes light source unit 13, light source lightquantity sensor unit 14, spatial light modulator 15 and projection lensunit 16.

Light source unit 13 generates illumination light. As a light source oflight source unit 13, for example, a light source comprising asolid-state light source such as LEDs (Light Emitting Diode) or LDs(Laser Diode), a light source in which a phosphor and a solid-statelight source are combined, or the like can be used. Since light sourceunit 13 is commonly known, a detailed description of light source unit13 is omitted.

Light source light quantity sensor unit 14 measures the amount ofillumination light emitted from light source unit 13. Any optical sensormay be used as long as the amount of illumination light can be measured.

Spatial light modulator 15 optically modulates the illumination lightfrom light source unit 13 in accordance with the drive signal fromspatial light modulator driving unit 12. Spatial light modulator 15includes, for example, a spatial light modulator such as a DMD (DigitalMicromirror Device) or a liquid crystal display device.

Projection lens unit 16 is an example of a projection lens unit.Projection lens unit 16 includes a projection lens for projecting theemitted light (modulated light) of spatial light modulator 15 on ascreen (not shown). Projection lens unit 16 includes a zoom lens unit inwhich at least a portion of the projection lens moves in the opticalaxis direction, and a lens shift unit in which the lens group of theentire projection lens moves in a direction perpendicular to the opticalaxis. Projection lens unit 16 supplies, to HDR display control unit 5,information indicating the zoom position of the zoom lens unit andinformation indicating the lens shift position of the lens shift unit.The information indicating the zoom position includes the movementdirection and the amount of movement of the zoom lens in the opticalaxis direction. The information indicating the lens shift positionincludes the movement direction and the amount of movement of the lensgroup.

HDR display control unit 5 includes ranging unit 17, screencharacteristic data storage unit 18, projection surface four cornerluminance calculation unit 19, and control unit 20.

Ranging unit 17 measures the distance from the projection lens ofprojection lens unit 16 to the screen. As ranging unit 17, for example,a distance sensor of TOF (Time of Flight) type, a distance sensor of thetriangulation method and the like can be used. The TOF system measuresthe distance based on the time until projected light is reflected by anobject and returns after the light is projected. The triangulationsystem is a system in which light is projected, light reflected by anobject is detected, and the distance is measured using the principle oftriangulation from the detection position of the reflected light.

Screen characteristic data storage unit 18 stores characteristic data ofa plurality of types of screens. Characteristic data of the screen is,for example, characteristic data indicating the gain of exit light withrespect to incident light (e.g., reflection characteristic data). Forexample, the user can designate the characteristic data of the screenusing an input operation unit (not shown).

As an example of a screen, characteristics of a diffusion type screen, aregression type screen, and a reflection type screen will be brieflydescribed below.

FIG. 6A schematically illustrates the properties of a diffusion typescreen. Diffusion type screen 40A shown in FIG. 6A substantiallyuniformly diffuse reflects incident light 44 a in all directions (360degrees). The diffuse reflected light is exit light 45 a of diffusiontype screen 40A.

FIG. 6B schematically illustrates the properties of a regression typescreen. Regression type screen 40B shown in FIG. 6B reflects incidentlight 44 b in the incident direction. The reflected light is exit light45 b of regression type screen 40B.

FIG. 6C schematically illustrates the properties of a reflection typescreen. Reflection type screen 40C shown in FIG. 6C reflects incidentlight 44 c in a direction that is opposite to the incident side and thatintersects the incident direction. The reflected light is exit light 45c of reflection type screen 40C.

Screen characteristic data storage unit 18 stores characteristic data ofeach screen. Here, the characteristic data is defined by the gaindistribution of exit light with respect to incident light, for example,the gain of the exit light in the normal direction of the screen withrespect to the incident light incident at various angles. For example,as shown in FIG. 7, screen characteristic data storage unit 18 storescharacteristic data 46 a indicating the gain of exit light 45 a withrespect to incident light 44 a of diffusion type screen 40A,characteristic data 46 b indicating the gain of exit light 45 b withrespect to incident light 44 b of regression type screen 40B, andcharacteristic data 46 c indicating the gain of exit light 45 c withrespect to incident light 44 c of reflection type screen 40C.

Reference is again made to FIG. 5.

Projection surface four corner luminance calculation unit 19 is anexample of a luminance acquiring unit. Projection surface four cornerluminance calculation unit 19 calculates the luminance of the fourcorners of the projection surface of modulated light based on the amountof light from the light source measured by light source light quantitysensor unit 14, the information of the zoom position and lens shiftposition from projection lens unit 16, the distance to the screenmeasured by ranging unit 17, and the characteristic data of thespecified screen that is stored in screen characteristic data storageunit 18.

Control unit 20 calculates the coefficient of the tone map based on

the luminance of the four corners of the projection surface that iscalculated by projection surface four corner luminance calculation unit19 and the metadata included in information regarding the HDR displayfrom input I/F unit 7. Control unit 20 sets the calculated coefficientto tone map unit 10. Control unit 20 adjusts the light amount of lightsource unit 13, and rewrites EOTF data of EDID stored in EDID storageunit 8. Control unit 20 generates a coefficient for correcting theluminance of the projection surface from the luminance of the fourcorners of the projection surface, and sets the generated coefficient toprojection surface luminance correction unit 11.

When performing stack display, control unit 20 can mutually communicatewith other projectors connected using communication means viacommunication control unit 6, and can exchange data necessary for stackdisplay with other projectors. For example, if the own projector is themain projector, control unit 20 may acquire the maximum luminance of theprojection surface from another projector that is the sub projector,calculate the coefficient of the tone map for the sub projector, andtransmit the calculated result, the maximum luminance of the tone map,and information of EOTF of EDID to the sub projector.

Next, the operation of projector 1 of the present example embodimentwill be described. Here, it is assumed that projector 1 is installed soas to face the screen.

FIG. 8 schematically indicates a state in which projector 1 is installedso as to face the screen.

Referring to FIG. 8, projector 1 faces screen 40 and projects an image(modulated light) on screen 40. On screen 40, projection surface 41 ofthe image (modulated light) is formed. Projection surface 41 has asubstantially rectangular shape. Viewpoint 43 is positioned to face thecenter of projection surface 41.

Projector 1 includes distance sensor 17 a. Distance sensor 17 a isdisposed toward the projection direction. One point on screen 40 isranging measurement point 42. Ranging measurement point 42 does notcoincide with the center of projection surface 41. Distance sensor 17 ameasures the distance from the projection lens to ranging measurementpoint 42 on screen 40. Straight line connecting distance sensor 17 a andranging measurement point 42 is parallel to lens center axis A of theprojection lens. Lens center axis A can be defined by a straight linethat passes through the center point of the lens surface (e.g., the exitsurface of the lens located on the screen 40 side) and that isperpendicular to the contact plane at the point.

Distances D1-D4 in the direction of lens center axis A between theprojection lens and the four corners of projection surface 41 are thesame.

Next, the operation of each unit of signal processing unit 3, projectionunit 4, HDR display control unit 5, and communication control unit 6 ofprojector 1 will be briefly described.

In signal processing unit 3, first, input interface (I/F) unit 7acquires information (EOTF, meta data) relating to the HDR displayincluded in the video signal from the source device. Next, videoprocessing unit 9 performs EOTF on the video data from input interface7, and performs a resolution conversion, an image quality adjustment,and the like. Next, tone map unit 10 performs tone mapping (luminancegradation conversion) on the output video data of video processing unit9. Next, projection surface luminance correcting unit 11 performs aprojection surface luminance correction for the output video data oftone map unit 10. Then, spatial light modulator driving unit 12, basedon the output video data of projection surface luminance correcting unit11, generates a drive signal for driving the spatial light modulator ofprojection unit 4.

In projection unit 4, light source unit 13 emits illumination light. Inspatial light modulator 15, the spatial light modulator modulates theillumination light from light source unit 13 in accordance with thedrive signal from spatial light modulator driving unit 12. In projectionlens unit 16, the projection lens projects the modulated light from thespatial light modulator on screen 40. Further, light source lightquantity sensor unit 14 measures the amount of illumination light fromlight source unit 13.

In HDR display control unit 5, ranging unit 17 measures the distancefrom the projection lens to screen 40. Next, projection surface fourcorner luminance calculation unit 19 calculates the luminance of thefour corners of projection surface 41 based on the amount of light fromthe light source measured by light source light quantity sensor unit 14,the zoom position and lens shift position of the projection lens, andthe characteristic data of the screen specified by the user. Then,control unit 20 calculates the coefficient of the tone map based on theluminance of the four corners of projection surface 41 calculated byprojection surface four corner luminance calculation unit 19 and themetadata included in information regarding the HDR display from inputinterface (I/F) unit 7, and sets the coefficient to signal processingunit 3. Further, control unit 20, based on the luminance of the fourcorners of projection surface 41 and the metadata, adjusts the amount oflight from the light source of projection unit 4. Furthermore, controlunit 20, by rewriting the information of EOTF of the EDID stored insignal processing unit 3, performs the HDR display with absoluteluminance. When the projection surface maximum luminance is too low,control unit 20 switches from the HDR display to the SDR display. Whenthe projection surface maximum luminance is too high, control unit 20reduces the amount of light form the light source. Furthermore, thecontrol unit 20, based on the luminance of the four corners ofprojection surface 41, generates a luminance correction coefficient foruniformizing the luminance of projection surface 41, and sets thecoefficient to projection surface luminance correction unit 11.

In the stack display, control unit 20 can control the display operationin the main projector mode and the display operation in the subprojector mode, respectively. The user can set the stack display mode(including setting the main projector mode and the sub projector mode)by an input operation unit (not shown).

In the main projector mode, control unit 20 acquires the projectionsurface maximum luminance of the sub projector through communicationcontrol unit 6. Control unit 20 creates a tone map of each projectorbased on the projection surface maximum luminance of the main projectorand the projection surface maximum luminance of the sub projector. Inaddition, control unit 20 transmits, to the sub projector, the tone mapand information of EOTF of the EDID and the like.

In the sub projector mode, control unit 20 acquires the projectionsurface maximum luminance of its own projector in response to a requestfrom the main projector and transmits the acquired projection surfacemaximum luminance to the main projector. Control unit 20 sets the tonemap received from the main projector to tone map unit 10 of the ownprojector.

Further, in each of the main projector mode and the sub projector mode,control unit 20 may generate a coefficient for correcting the luminanceof the projection surface from the luminance of the four corners of theprojection surface. Then, control unit 20 can set the generatedcoefficient to projection surface luminance correction unit 11.

According to the main projector mode and the sub projector modedescribed above, even in the stack display, each projector can performthe HDR display with absolute luminance. Further, each projectorswitches from the HDR display to the SDR display when the projectionsurface maximum luminance is too low, and decreases the amount of lightof the light source when the projection surface maximum luminance is toohigh. Each projector also generates a coefficient for correcting theluminance of the projection surface from the luminance of the fourcorners of the projection surface, and uniformizes the luminance of theprojection surface according to the coefficient.

Next, the operation of each unit of signal processing unit 3, projectionunit 4, HDR display control unit 5 and communication control unit 6 willbe described in detail.

First, the operation of signal processing unit 3 will be described indetail.

When source device 2 is connected to projector 1, source device 2accesses EDID storage unit 8 via input I/F unit 7. Source device 2 usesa DDC (Display Data Channel) bus independent of the video signal to readout, from EDID storage unit 8, EDID (Extended Display IdentificationData) that corresponds to projector 1 and that includes information ofresolution and EOTF data. Then, source device 2 outputs, to projector 1,a signal of resolution and EOTF that are suitable for projector 1.

The reading of EDID by source device 2 is realized by setting the HPD(Hot Plug Detect) signal, which indicates that EDID can be read fromprojector 1 to source device 2, to a high level. Normally, the HPDsignal is set to a high level. When the HPD signal is at the low level,since EDID cannot be read out, source device 2 does not output an image.In this example embodiment, since projector 1 performs the HDR displaywith absolute luminance, the PQ curve is set as the corresponding EOTFinformation of the above EDID.

When source device 2 outputs a video signal, input I/F unit 7 acquiresinformation (EOTF, meta-data) related to the HDR-display included in thevideo signal. Video processing unit 9 performs an EOTF process on thevideo data based on EOTF information acquired by input I/F unit 7, andfurther performs a process such as a resolution conversion and an imagequality adjustment.

Next, tone map unit 10 performs tone mapping (luminance gradationconversion) according to the coefficient of the tone map set by controlunit 20. Next, projection surface luminance correcting unit 11 adjuststhe luminance of the projection surface according to the coefficient ofthe luminance correction of the projection surface set by control unit20. Then, spatial light modulator driving unit 12 generates a spatiallight modulator drive signal for driving the spatial light modulatorbased on the video data in which the luminance from projection surfaceluminance correcting unit 11 is adjusted.

Next, the operation of projection unit 4 will be described in detail.

Light source unit 13 generates illumination light according to the drivesignal from control unit 20. Light source light quantity sensor unit 14measures the amount of illumination light emitted by light source unit13, and spatial modulation unit 15 modulates the illumination light fromlight source 13 in accordance with the spatial light modulator drivesignal from signal processing unit 3. Light source light quantity sensorunit 14 supplies a signal indicating the measurement result of theamount of light to HDR display control unit 5.

Projection lens unit 16 projects an image (modulated light) from spatialmodulation unit 15 on the screen. The user uses an input operation unit(not shown) to perform the zoom adjustment and lens shift adjustment inprojection lens unit 16. In accordance with the operation of the zoomadjustment and lens shift adjustment of the user, projection lens unit16 supplies information indicating the zoom position and lens shiftposition to HDR display control unit 5.

Next, the operation of HDR display control unit 5 will be described indetail.

The user specifies characteristic data of the screen by using an inputoperation unit (not shown). The specification of the characteristic dataof the screen is performed at an arbitrary timing in the period from thestart of projector 1 until the luminance calculation by projectionsurface four corner luminance calculation unit 19 is started. Inresponse to the designation of the screen characteristic data by theuser, projection plane four corner luminance calculation unit 19acquires the designated screen characteristic data from screencharacteristic data storage unit 18.

In addition, distance measuring unit 17 measures the distance to thescreen. Then, projection surface four corner luminance calculation unit19 calculates the luminance of the four corners of the projectionsurface based on the distance measured by the ranging unit 17, theamount of light of the light source measured by light source lightquantity sensor unit 14, information of the zoom position and lens shiftposition from projection lens unit 16 and the screen characteristic dataacquired from screen characteristic data storage unit 18.

Hereinafter, the configuration of projection surface four cornerluminance calculation unit 19 will be described in detail.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram indicating the configuration of projectionsurface four corner luminance calculation unit 19. In FIG. 9, aunidirectional arrow is a brief indication of the direction of flow of asignal (e.g., data, information, etc.) and does not precludebi-directionality.

As shown in FIG. 9, projection surface four corner luminance calculationunit 19 includes projection surface four corner coordinate calculationunit 50, projection light amount calculation unit 51, projection surfacefour corner incident luminance calculation unit 52, lens shift luminancecoefficient storage unit 53, projection four corner screen gaincalculation unit 54, and projection surface four corner exit luminancecalculation unit 55.

Projection surface four corner coordinate calculation unit 50, based onthe information of the zoom position and lens shift position obtainedfrom projection lens unit 16 and the distance to the screen obtainedfrom ranging unit 17, calculates the three-dimensional coordinates ofthe four corners of the projection surface with respect to projector 1.In the calculation of the three-dimensional coordinates of the fourcorners, projection surface four corner coordinate calculation unit 50first obtains the three-dimensional coordinates of a distancemeasurement point, which is a certain point on the screen measured bythe distance sensor of ranging unit 17, based on the distance to thescreen that is measured and the direction of each of projector 1 and thedistance sensor that is known. Then, projection surface four cornercoordinate calculation unit 50, from the positional relationship betweenthe distance and the projection surface of the lens optical axisdirection of the distance measurement point is known, calculates thethree-dimensional coordinates of the four corners of the projectionsurface.

Projection light amount calculation unit 51 calculates the amount of theprojected light at the output of projection lens unit 16 based on theamount of light of the light source measured by light source lightquantity sensor unit 14 and the optical gain from the output of lightsource unit 13 to the output of projection lens unit 16 which is knownin the design of projector 1.

Projection surface four corner incidence luminance calculation unit 52calculates the incident luminance at the four corners of the projectionsurface based on the three-dimensional coordinate of the four corners ofthe projection surface calculated by projection surface four cornercoordinate calculation unit 50 and the projected light amount calculatedby projection light amount calculation unit 51.

Normally, the projector is designed so that the luminance of theprojection surface when projected near the lens central axis becomesuniform. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, based on the distance to thescreen in the lens center axis direction and the zoom position, it ispossible to calculate the luminance of the projection surface.Incidentally, since projector 1 is installed to face the screen, theincident luminance of the four corners, that is determined based on thedistance to the screen in the lens center axis direction and the zoomposition, is the same.

On the other hand, when the lens shift operation is performed, theprojection surface largely deviates from the lens center axis, and as aresult, the luminance of the projection surface is attenuated. Takinginto account the attenuation due to the lens shift, the coefficient ofluminance attenuation with respect to the horizontal/vertical positionfrom the lens center axis is stored in lens shift luminance coefficientstorage unit 53. When the lens shift operation is performed, projectionsurface four corner incident luminance calculation unit 52 uses theluminance attenuation coefficient stored in lens shift luminancecoefficient storage unit 53 to calculate the incident luminance of thefour corners of the projection surface.

Specifically, projection surface four corner incident luminancecalculation unit 52, first, using the three-dimensional position of thefour corners, obtains the incident luminance of the four corners fromthe distance to the screen in the lens center axis direction and thezoom position. Next, projection surface four corner incident luminancecalculation unit 52, based on the lens shift position, calculates thehorizontal/vertical position from the lens center axis, and obtains,from lens shift luminance coefficient storage unit 53, the coefficientof luminance attenuation that corresponds to the calculatedhorizontal/vertical position. Then, projection surface four cornerincident luminance calculation unit 52, by multiplying the coefficientof luminance attenuation to the calculated incident luminance of thefour corners, calculates the final incident luminance of the fourcorners.

Projection four corner screen gain calculation unit 54, based on thethree-dimensional coordinates of the four corners of the projectionsurface calculated by projection surface four corner coordinatecalculation unit 50, obtains the angle of incidence on the four cornersof the projection surface. Then, projection four corner screen gaincalculation unit 54 acquires characteristic data of the screen specifiedby the user from screen characteristic data storage unit 18, andacquires, based on the obtained characteristic data, the gain of exitlight in the normal direction of the screen for incident light of theincident angle calculated for each of the four corners of the projectionsurface.

FIG. 10 schematically shows the projection state when the lens shiftoperation is performed in the state in which the projector 1 isinstalled to face the screen. In this example, the lens shift operationfor shifting projection surface 41 in the upper left direction isperformed. Ranging measurement point 42 is located in the vicinity ofthe lower right corner of projection surface 41. Projection surface fourcorner coordinate calculation unit 50 calculates the three-dimensionalcoordinates of the four corners of projection surface 41, and projectionfour corner screen gain calculation unit 54 obtains, based on thecalculated three-dimensional coordinates of the four corners, the angleof incidence on the four corners of projection surface 41. Then,projection four corner screen gain calculation unit 54 acquires the gainof exit light in the normal direction of screen 40 for the incidentlight of each of the four corners based on the characteristic data ofthe screen specified by the user. For example, for the upper left cornerof projection surface 41, projection four corner screen gain calculationunit 54 acquires the gain of exit light 48 with respect to incidentlight 47.

Projection surface four corner exit luminance calculation unit 55multiples the incident luminance to the four corners of the projectionsurface calculated by the projection surface four corner incidenceluminance calculation unit 52 and the screen gain of the four corners ofthe projection surface calculated by projection four corner screen gaincalculation unit 54 to calculate the exit luminance of the four cornersof the projection surface, respectively.

The above is an explanation of the specific configuration of projectionsurface four corner luminance calculation unit 19.

Control unit 20 determines, as the projection surface maximum luminance,the smallest value from among the luminance of the four corners of theprojection surface calculated by projection surface four cornerluminance calculation unit 19. Control unit 20 performs, based on theprojection surface maximum luminance and metadata included ininformation with respect to the HDR display from input I/F unit 7, thecalculation process of the coefficient of the tone map, the luminanceadjusting process of the light source of light source unit 13 and therewriting process of information of EOTF. By performing these processes,the HDR display is performed with absolute luminance. Furthermore, whenthe projection surface maximum luminance is too low, it is possible toswitch from the HDR display to the SDR display, and when the projectionsurface maximum luminance is too high, it is possible to reduce theamount of light of light source. Further, control unit 20 generates acoefficient of luminance correction of the projection surface from theluminance of the four corners of the projection surface, and sets thecoefficient to projection surface luminance correction unit 11.

FIG. 11 shows a procedure of a tone map creation process which is anexample of a video display process executed by control unit 20. FIG. 12shows a tone map created in the tone map creation process. In FIG. 12,the vertical axis indicates the output luminance, the horizontal axisindicates the input luminance.

Hereinafter, the tone map creation process will be described in detailwith reference to FIGS. 11 and 12.

Control unit 20 determines whether or not the maximum luminance of theprojection plane is equal to or greater than a MaxCLL value included inthe meta data (step S10). Here, the MaxCLL is one of the firstthresholds.

If the determination result of step S10 is “Yes”, control unit 20determines whether or not the projection surface maximum luminance isgreater than the MaxCLL (step S11).

If the determination result of step S11 is “Yes”, control unit 20decreases the amount of light of the light source of light source unit13 (step S12). For example, control unit 20 reduces the amount of lightof the light source of light source unit 13 so that the amount of lightof the light source is set to the amount of light to which the valueobtained by dividing the value of MaxCLL by the projection surfacemaximum luminance is multiplied. For example, if the value obtained bydividing the value of MaxCLL by the projection surface maximum luminanceis 0.8, the amount of light of the light source will be reduced by 0.8times, i.e., 20%.

Next, control unit 20 sets a tone map having linear characteristics (forexample, tone map 49 a shown in FIG. 12) in tone map unit 10 (step S13).Here, the setting of the tone map having the linear characteristic isreferred to as a setting without tone mapping.

If the determination result of the step S11 is “No”, control unit 20performs the process of step S13 without performing the process of stepS12.

If the determination result of step S10 is “No”, control unit 20determines whether or not the projection surface maximum luminance isequal to or more than twice the value of MaxFALL included in themetadata (step S14). Here, the value that is twice as large as the valueof MaxFALL is an example of the second threshold value.

If the determination result of step S14 is “Yes”, control unit 20performs tone mapping so that the maximum value of the output luminancebecomes the projection surface maximum luminance (step S15). In the tonemapping, control unit 20 sets tone map 49 b shown in FIG. 12, forexample. Tone map 49 b is a tone map in which a gamma coefficient is setso that the maximum value of the output luminance is set to theprojection surface maximum luminance. The gradation characteristics oftone map 49 b are set so that the amount of change in the outputluminance is smaller than the amount of change in the input luminance ina predetermined gradation range of the higher side of the luminance.

When the determination result of step S14 is “No”, control unit 20performs tone mapping so that the maximum value of the output luminancebecomes twice the maximum value of MaxFALL, or performs setting withouttone mapping (step S16).

In the tone mapping performed in step S16, control unit 20 sets, forexample, tone map 49 c shown in FIG. 12. Tone map 49 c is a tone map inwhich a gamma coefficient is set so that the maximum value of the outputluminance is set to be twice the value of MaxFALL. Gradationcharacteristics of tone map 49 c are set so that the amount of change inthe output luminance is smaller than the amount of change in the inputluminance in a predetermined gradation range of the higher side of theluminance.

Further, in the setting without tone mapping performed in step S16,control unit 20 sets the gamma for SDRs in the corresponding EOTFinformation of EDID. Then, control unit 20 changes the HPD signal from ahigh level to a low level, further changing from a low level to a highlevel. Thus, source device 2 can output an SDR signal in which EOTF is agamma coefficient for SDR. As a result, it is possible to switch fromthe HDR display to the SDR display.

According to projector 1 of the present example embodiment describedabove, since the tone map can be set in accordance with the projectionsurface maximum luminance, even if the projection distance or the amountof light of the light source changes due to the change in the projectionsituation, the HDR display can be performed with absolute luminance.

Further, when the maximum luminance of the projection surface is largerthan the maximum luminance of the image data, by reducing the amount oflight of the light source, it is possible to improve the lightutilization efficiency and extend the life of the light source.

Furthermore, if the maximum luminance of the projection surface is toosmall for the HDR display, the projection can be performed by switchingfrom the HDR display to the SDR display.

Furthermore, since the non-uniformity of the luminance of the projectionsurface caused by performing the lens shift can be corrected, it ispossible to correctly perform the HDR display with absolute luminance.

(Stack Display)

When a stack display, in which projected images of a plurality ofprojectors are overlapped and projected, is performed, it is difficultfor each projector to perform the stack display with correct gradationonly by performing the tone map creation process as shown in FIG. 11.

As examples, tone maps used in the respective projectors when displayingstacks using two projector PJ1, PJ2 will be described. Each of projectorPJ1, PJ2 has the same configuration as projector 1. MaxCLL of thecontent is 4000 nits. The projection surface maximum luminance ofprojector PJ1 is 3000 nits, and the projection surface maximum luminanceof projector PJ2 is 2000 nits.

FIG. 13A shows a tone map for projector PJ1 alone. FIG. 13B shows a tonemap for projector PJ2 alone. FIG. 13C shows the tone map when the tonemaps shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B are stacked. FIG. 13D shows a tone mapfor the total projector plane luminance of projectors PJ1 and PJ2. FIG.13E shows a tone map for projector PJ1 that is created based on the tonemap shown in FIG. 13D. FIG. 13F shows a tone map for projector PJ2 thatis created based on the tone map shown in FIG. 13D.

Projector PJ1 has tone map 21 a shown in FIG. 13A, and projector PJ2 hastone map 22 a shown in FIG. 13B. Tone map 21 a is set so that themaximum value of the output luminance is 3,000 nits, and has a linearcharacteristic in which the input luminance and the output luminance arethe same in the range of 3,000 nits or less. On the other hand, tone map22 a is set so that the maximum value of the output luminance is 2000nits, and has a linear characteristic in which the input luminance andthe output luminance are the same in the range of 2000 nits or less.

When projector PJ1 with tone map 21 a and projector PJ2 with tone map 22a perform the stack display, simply stacking tone map 21 a and tone map22 a results in tone map 23 a as shown in FIG. 13C. Tone map 23 a haslinear characteristics in both the range of 2,000 nits or less and therange of 2,000 nits or more and 2,000 nits or less, but their slopes aredifferent from each other.

The total projection surface maximum luminance is 5000 nits whenProjector PJ1 and the projector PJ2 perform the stack display. In thisinstance, it is desirable to use tone map 24 a as shown in FIG. 13D,rather than tone map 23 a shown in FIG. 13C, because the totalprojection surface maximum luminance exceeds 4,000 nits which is MaxCLL.Tone map 24 a is set so that the maximum value of the output luminanceis 4000 nits and has a linear characteristic in which the inputluminance and the output luminance are the same in the entire range.

Therefore, in the present example embodiment, tone map 24 a shown inFIG. 13D is created from the total projection surface maximum luminance,and a tone map of each of projectors PJ1 and PJ2 is created based ontone map 24 a. Specifically, tone maps 25 a and 26 a as shown in FIGS.13E and 13F are created by dividing tone maps 24 a into two based on theratio of the projection surface maximum luminance of each of projectorsPJ1 and PJ2 to the total projection surface maximum luminance. Themaximum value of the output luminance of tone map 25 a is set to 2,400nits (=4,000×3,000÷5,000). Tone map 25 a has a linear characteristic inthe entire range. The maximum value of the output luminance of tone map26 a is set to 1600 nits (=4000×2000÷5000). Tone map 26 a has a linearcharacteristic in the entire range.

2400 nits, which is the maximum value of the output luminance of tonemap 25 a for projector PJ1, is smaller than 3000 nits, which is theprojection surface maximum luminance of projector PJ1. Therefore, theamount of light of the light source of projector PJ1 is reduced to “themaximum value of the output luminance/the projection surface maximumluminance (=2400/3000)”.

Similarly, 1600 nits, which is the maximum value of the output luminanceof tone map 26 a for projector PJ2, is smaller than 2000 nits, which isthe projection surface maximum luminance of projector PJ2. Therefore,the amount of light of the light source of projector PJ2 is reduced to“the maximum value of the output luminance/the projection surfacemaximum luminance (=1600/2000)”.

As another example, a tone map will be described where MaxCLL of thecontents is 4000 nits and the projection surface maximum luminancevalues of projectors PJ1 and PJ2 are 2000 nits and 1500 nits,respectively.

FIG. 14A shows a tone map, which is another example, for projector PJ1alone. FIG. 14B shows a tone map, which is another example, forprojector PJ2 alone. Tone map 21 a shown in FIG. 14A is set so that themaximum value of the output luminance is 2000 nits, and has a linearcharacteristic in which the input luminance and the output luminance arethe same in the range of 2000 nits or less. On the other hand, tone map22 b shown in FIG. 14B is set so that the maximum value of the outputluminance is 1,500 nits, and has a linear characteristic in which theinput luminance and the output luminance are the same in the range of1,500 nits or less.

When the tone maps shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B are simply stacked, tonemap 23 b as shown in FIG. 14C is obtained. Tone map 23 b is set so thatthe maximum value of the output luminance is 3,500 nits, and has linearcharacteristics in both the range of 1,500 nits or less and the range of1,500 nits or more and 2,000 nits or less, but their slopes aredifferent from each other.

Rather than using the tone map 23 b shown in FIG. 14C, it is desirableto use tone map 24 b as shown in FIG. 14D. Tone map 24 b is set so thatthe maximum value of the output luminance is 3,500 nits, and has alinear characteristic in which the input luminance and the outputluminance are the same in the range of 3,500 nits or less.

In the above cases, tone map 24 b shown in FIG. 14D is created, and thetone map of each projectors PJ1 and PJ2 is created based on tone map 24b. Specifically, tone maps 25 b and 26 b as shown in FIGS. 14E and 14Fare created by dividing tone maps 24 b into two based on the ratio ofthe projection surface maximum luminance of each of projectors PJ1 andPJ2 to the total projection surface maximum luminance Tone map 25 b isset so that the maximum value of the output luminance is 2000 nits(=3500×2000÷3500), and has a linear characteristic in the range of 2,000nits or less. Tone map 26 a is set so that the maximum value of theoutput luminance is 1500 nits (=3500×1500÷3500), and has a linearcharacteristic in the range of 1,500 nits or less.

The maximum value of the output luminance of tone map 25 b for projectorPJ1, 2000 nits, matches the projection surface maximum luminance ofprojector PJ1, 2000 nits. In this situation, there is no need to adjustthe amount of light of the light source of projector PJ1.

Similarly, the maximum value of the output luminance of tone map 26 afor projector PJ2, 1500 nits, matches the projection surface maximumluminance of projector PJ2, 1500 nits. Again, there is no need to adjustthe amount of light of the light source of projector PJ2.

The above is a rough sequence related to the creation of a tone map whenthe stack display is performed using two projector PJ1, PJ2.

In the present example embodiment, the stack display system isconfigured using n projectors 1, and any one projector operates as amain projector and the other projector operates as a sub projector.Here, n indicating the number of projectors 1 is an arbitrary value.

In the following, the operations related to tone map creation in each ofthe main projector and the sub projector will be described in detail.Incidentally, the main projector and the sub projector each have theconfiguration shown in FIG. 5.

First, control unit 20 of the main projector makes projection surfacefour corner luminance calculation unit 19 of the own projector andprojection surface four corner luminance calculation unit 19 of each subprojector calculate the luminance of the four corners of the projectionsurface, respectively.

In each sub projector, control unit 20 sets, as the projection surfacemaximum luminance, the smallest value from among the luminance of thefour corners of the projection surface calculated by projection surfacefour corner luminance calculation unit 19. Then, control unit 20transmits the projection surface maximum luminance to the main projectorvia communication control unit 6.

In the main projector, control unit 20 sets, as the projection surfacemaximum luminance, the smallest value from among the luminance of thefour corners of the projection surface calculated by projection surfacefour corner luminance calculation unit 19 of the own projector. Further,control unit 20 receives the projection surface maximum luminance viacommunication control unit 6 from each sub projector. Further, controlunit 20 sums the projection surface maximum luminance of the ownprojector and the projection surface maximum luminance of each subprojector. Further, control unit 20 creates a tone map (for example, thetone map of FIG. 13D or FIG. 14D) based on the total projection surfacemaximum luminance according to the above-described procedure (forexample, the procedure of FIGS. 13A to 13F and 14A to 14F). Then,control unit 20 creates a tone map of each projector by dividing thetone map according to the total projection surface maximum luminanceinto n based on the ratio of the projection surface maximum luminance ofeach of the n projectors to the total projection surface maximumluminance.

Here, as an example, a brief description will be given of the totalprojection surface maximum luminance when the stack display is performedusing two projectors PJ1 and PJ2.

FIG. 15A schematically shows the luminance of the four corners of theprojection surface of projector PJ1 and the maximum luminance of theprojection surface. In FIG. 15A, the luminance of the four corners ofthe projection surface is indicated by black circles, the projectionsurface maximum luminance is indicated by a broken line. Black circle 27a indicates the luminance of the lower left corner of the projectionsurface, black circle 27 b indicates the luminance of the upper leftcorner of the projection surface, black circle 27 c indicates theluminance of the upper right corner of the projection surface, and blackcircle 27 d indicates the luminance of the lower right corner of theprojection surface. From among black circles 27 a to 27 d, the luminanceof black circle 27 d is the smallest. Therefore, projection surfacemaximum luminance 27 e shown by the broken line is set to the luminanceof black circle 27 d.

FIG. 15B schematically shows the luminance of the four corners of theprojection surface of projector PJ2 and the maximum luminance of theprojection surface. In FIG. 15B, the luminance of the four corners ofthe projection surface is indicated by black circles, the projectionsurface maximum luminance is indicated by a broken line. Black circle 28a indicates the luminance of the lower left corner of the projectionsurface, black circle 28 b indicates the luminance of the upper leftcorner of the projection surface, black circle 28 c indicates theluminance of the upper right corner of the projection surface, and blackcircle 28 d indicates the luminance of the lower right corner of theprojection surface. From among black circles 28 a to 28 d, the luminanceof black circle 28 b is the smallest. Therefore, projection surfacemaximum luminance 28 e shown by the broken line is set to the luminanceof black circle 28 b.

FIG. 15C shows schematically the total projection surface maximumluminance when the stack display is performed. In FIG. 15C, theprojection surface maximum luminance is indicated by a dashed line.Total projection surface maximum luminance 29 e shown in FIG. 15C isobtained by stacking the projection surface maximum luminance ofprojector PJ2 shown in FIG. 15B to the projection surface maximumluminance of projector PJ1 shown in FIG. 15A. The tone maps shown inFIGS. 13D and 14D are created based on total projection surface maximumluminance 29 e as shown in FIG. 15C.

In the main projector, after the tone map of each projector is createdby dividing the tone map according to the total projection surfacemaximum luminance into n, control unit 20 transmits the tone map of thesub projector to each sub projector via communication control unit 6.Further, control unit 20 sets the tone map of the own projector to tonemap 10. At this time, when the maximum luminance indicated by the tonemap is greater than the projection surface maximum luminance, controlunit 20 reduces the amount of light of the light source to “the maximumluminance/the projection surface maximum luminance”.

On the other hand, in each sub projector, control unit 20 sets the tonemap received from the main projector to tone map 10. At this time, whenthe maximum luminance indicated by the tone map is greater than theprojection surface maximum luminance, control unit 20 reduces the amountof light of the light source to “the maximum luminance/the projectionsurface maximum luminance”.

In the main projector, control unit 20 determines whether or not thetotal projection surface maximum luminance is smaller than twice thevalue of MaxFALL. When the total projection surface maximum luminance issmaller than the value twice MaxFALL, control unit 20 performs tonemapping so that the maximum value of the output luminance is the valuethat is twice MaxFALL and divides the tone map into n to create a tonemap of the respective projectors. Thereafter, control unit 20 transmitsthe tone map of the sub projector to each sub projector viacommunication control unit 6. Alternatively, according to the settinginstruction without tone mapping, in each of the main projector and thesub projector, control unit 20 sets the tone map having the linearcharacteristic, and sets the gamma for SDR to the corresponding EOTFinformation of EDID. Then, control unit 20 changes the HPD signal from ahigh level to a low level, further changing from a low level to a highlevel. Thus, source device 2 can output an SDR signal in which EOTF is agamma coefficient for SDR. As a result, it is possible to switch fromthe HDR display to the SDR display.

Further, in each of the main projector and the sub projector, controlunit 20 generates a coefficient of luminance correction of theprojection surface from the luminance of the four corners of theprojection surface. Then, control unit 20 sets the generated coefficientto projection surface luminance correction unit 11.

According to the stack display system including the main projector andthe sub projector described above, it is possible to perform the stackdisplay with correct gradation.

Third Example Embodiment

FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a projectoraccording to a third example embodiment of the present invention. InFIG. 16, a unidirectional arrow is a brief indication of the directionof flow of a signal (e.g., data, information, etc.) and does notpreclude bi-directionality.

Projector 1 a shown in FIG. 16 differs from projector 1 of the secondexample embodiment in that it includes distortion correction datastorage unit 21 and distortion correction unit 22, and further includesprojection surface four corner luminance calculation unit 19 a insteadof projection surface four corner luminance calculation unit 19. Thesame components as those of projector 1 are denoted by the samereference numerals, and their descriptions are omitted here.

In the present example embodiment, it is assumed that projector 1 a isused without facing the screen, and that the positional relation betweenprojector 1 a and the screen is fixed.

Distortion correction data storage unit 21 stores correction data forcorrecting the distortion of the projected image that occurs when theimage is projected on the screen that is not facing the projector.Distortion correction data storage unit 21 performs distortioncorrection on the output video data of tone map 10 using the correctiondata stored in distortion correction data storage unit 21.

FIG. 17 schematically shows the relationship between the projected imagearea when projecting an image on a screen 40 that is not facingprojector 1 a and the projected image area after distortion correction.In this example, the distances from the projection lens to the lowerleft corner and the lower right corner of the four corners of projectionsurface 41 are longer than those in the state in which the projectorfaces the screen. However, the distance from the projection lens to thelower left corner coincides with the distance from the projection lensto the lower right corner.

In FIG. 17, the frame shown by a broken line is normal projection imagearea 41 a before the distortion correction, the frame shown by a solidline is projection image area 41 b after the distortion correction. Theshape of projection image area 41 a is rectangular. On the other hand,the shape of projection image area 41 b has a trapezoidal shape. Theupper end of projection image area 41 a coincides with the upper end ofprojection image area 41 b. The lower end of the projection image area41 b is smaller than the lower end of the projection image area 41 a.The vertical size of projection image area 41 b is smaller than thevertical size of projection image area 41 a.

By correcting image data so that projection image area 41 a isprojection image area 41 b, the shape of projection surface 41 on screen40 can be square (square or rectangular). In this case, distortioncorrection data for transforming projection image area 41 a intoprojection image area 41 b is stored in distortion correction datastorage unit 21. Based on the distortion correction data, it is possibleto obtain the horizontal/vertical inclination of screen 40 shown in FIG.17.

FIG. 18 schematically illustrates, as another example, the relationbetween the projected image area when projecting an image on screen 40that is not facing projector 1 a and the projected image area afterdistortion correction. In this example, from among the four corners ofthe projection surface 41, the distance from the projection lens to theupper right corner, the distance from the projection lens to the lowerleft corner, and the distance from the projection lens to the lowerright corner are longer than those in the state in which the projectorfaces the screen.

In FIG. 18, the frame shown by a broken line is normal projection imagearea 41 a before the distortion correction, and the frame shown by asolid line is projection image area 41 c after the distortioncorrection. The shape of projection image area 41 a is rectangular. Onthe other hand, projection image area 41 c has a rectangular shape, butthe length of each side is different. The upper left corner of theprojection image area 41 a coincides with the upper left corner ofprojection image area 41 c. The size of both the vertical direction andthe lateral direction of projection image area 41 c is smaller than thesize of both the vertical direction and the lateral direction ofprojection image area 41 a.

By correcting the image data so that projection image area 41 a isprojection image area 41 c, the shape of projection surface 41 on screen40 can be square (tetragon or rectangular). In this case, distortioncorrection data for transforming projection image area 41 a intoprojection image area 41 b is stored in distortion correction datastorage unit 21. Based on the distortion correction data, it is possibleto obtain the horizontal/vertical inclination of screen 40 shown in FIG.18.

In the present example embodiment, distortion correction data storageunit 21 transforms the projection image area to the projection imagearea after correction (such as projection image area 41 b of FIG. 17 orprojection image area 41 c of FIG. 18) by performing distortioncorrection for the output video data of tone map 10. Therefore,projection surface four corner luminance calculation unit 19 a acquiresthe distortion degree based on the distortion correction data stored indistortion correction data storage unit 21 and calculates thethree-dimensional position of the four corners of the projection surfacewhen the deformed projection image is projected on the screen.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing the configuration of projectionsurface four corner luminance calculation unit 19 a. In FIG. 19, aunidirectional arrow is a brief indication of the direction of flow of asignal (e.g., data, information, etc.) and does not precludebi-directionality.

As shown in FIG. 19, projection surface four corner luminancecalculation unit 19 a includes projection surface four corner coordinatecalculation unit 56, projection light amount calculation unit 51,projection surface four corner incident luminance calculation unit 52,lens shift luminance coefficient storage unit 53, projection four cornerscreen gain calculation unit 54, and projection surface four corner exitluminance calculation unit 55. Configurations other than projectionplane four corner coordinate calculation unit 56 are the same as thoseshown in FIG. 9.

Projection surface four corner coordinate calculation unit 56 calculatesthe three-dimensional coordinates of the four corners of the projectionsurface with respect to projector 1 based on information of the zoomposition and lens shift position obtained from projection lens unit 16,the distance from ranging unit 17 to the screen, and the distortioncorrection data stored in distortion correction data storage unit 21.

In the calculation of the three-dimensional coordinates of the fourcorners, projection surface four corner coordinate calculation unit 56first obtains the three-dimensional coordinate of a distance measuringpoint, which is a certain point on the screen 40 to be measured by thedistance sensor of ranging unit 17, based on the measured distance tothe screen and the direction of each of projector 1 a and the distancesensor that are known. Next, projection surface four corner coordinatecalculation unit 56 calculates the inclination of thehorizontal/vertical direction of screen 40 based on the distortioncorrection data. Then, projection surface four corner coordinatecalculation unit 56 calculates the three-dimensional coordinates of thefour corners of the projection surface with respect to projector 1 basedon the distance of the distance measuring point in the lens optical axisdirection which is known, the positional relationship of the projectionsurface, and the inclination of the screen.

Incidentally, since screen 40 does not face projector 1 a, the incidentluminance of the four corners, which is determined based on the distancefrom the projection lens to screen 40 in the lens center axis directionand the zoom position, is not the same.

According to Projector 1 a of the present example embodiment describedabove, it is possible to perform the HDR display at the absoluteluminance value even when the projector is not directly opposite toscreen 40.

Further, as in the second example embodiment, since the tone map can beset in accordance with the projection surface maximum luminance, it ispossible to perform the display with absolute luminance even if theprojection distance and the amount of light of the light source changedue to the change of the projection situation.

Furthermore, when the maximum luminance of the projection surface islarger than the maximum luminance of the image data, by reducing theamount of light of the light source, it is possible to improve the lightutilization efficiency and to extend the life of the light source.

Furthermore, if the maximum luminance on the projection surface is toosmall for the HDR display, it is possible to project by switching fromthe HDR display to the SDR display.

Moreover, since the non-uniformity of the luminance in the projectionplane that is caused due to the lens shift can be corrected, it ispossible to correctly perform the HDR display with absolute luminance.

Further, it is possible to cope with the stack display described in thesecond example embodiment.

Fourth Example Embodiment

FIG. 20 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a projectoraccording to a fourth example embodiment of the present invention. InFIG. 20, a unidirectional arrow provides a brief indication of thedirection of flow of a signal (e.g., data, information, etc.) and doesnot eliminate bi-directionality.

Projector 1 b shown in FIG. 20 differs from projector 1 a of the thirdexample embodiment in that 3D tone map section 23 is provided in placeof tone map section 10. The same components as those of the projector 1a are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their descriptions areomitted here.

Tone map unit 10 merely performs the gradation conversion of the outputluminance with respect to the input luminance, and performs the sameconversion for all pixels of the video data. In contrast, 3D tone mapunit 23 performs gradation transformation of different propertiesaccording to the position of the pixels of the video data.

Control unit 20 creates a tone map of the four corners based on theluminance of the four corners of the projection surface calculated byprojection surface four corner luminance calculation unit 19 a.Specifically, the control unit 20 sets, for each luminance of the fourcorners, the luminance as the projection surface maximum luminance, andcreates a tone map according to the procedure described in the secondexample embodiment (see the procedure in FIG. 11). Control unit 20 setsthe tone maps of the four corners in 3D tone map unit 23.

3D tone map unit 23 calculates the tone map for each pixel from the tonemaps of the four corners using the complement, and performs tone mapping(luminance gradation conversion) in each tone map for each pixel of theimage from image processing unit 9.

The configurations of control unit 20 and 3D tone map unit 23 asdescribed above can also be applied to projector 1 of the second exampleembodiment.

(Stack Display)

A stack display system can be configured by using n projectors 1 b. Inthis stack display system, any one projector 1 b operates as a mainprojector and the other projector 1 b operates as a sub projector. Here,n indicating the number of projectors 1 is an arbitrary value.

In the following, the operations related to tone maps of the fourcorners in each of the main projector and the sub projector will bedescribed in detail. The main projector and the sub projector each havethe configuration shown in FIG. 20.

First, control unit 20 of the main projector calculates the luminance ofthe four corners of the projection surface by projection surface fourcorner luminance calculation unit 19 a of the own projector andprojection surface four corner luminance calculation unit 19 a of eachsub projector, respectively.

In each sub projector, control unit 20 transmits information of theluminance of the four corners of the projection surface, which iscalculated by projection surface four corner luminance calculation unit19 a, to the main projector via communication control unit 6.

In the main projector, control unit 20 acquires the luminance of thefour corners of the projection surface calculated by the own projectorand the luminance of the four corners of the projection surfacecalculated by each sub projector, and calculates the total projectionsurface four corner luminance Here, the total projection surface fourcorner luminance includes a value obtained by summing the luminancecalculated by each projector for each corner of the upper left corner,the upper right corner, the lower left corner, and the lower rightcorner, respectively. Control unit 20 sets the smallest value of thetotal projection surface four corner luminance to the total projectionsurface maximum luminance.

Here, the total projection surface maximum luminance will bespecifically described. As an example, a brief description will be givenof the total projected surface maximal luminance when the stack displayis performed using two projectors PJ1 and PJ2.

FIG. 21A schematically shows the luminance of the four corners of theprojection surface of projector PJ1 and the maximum luminance of theprojection surface. In FIG. 21A, the luminance of the four corners ofthe projection surface is indicated by a black circle, the projectionsurface maximum luminance is indicated by a broken line. Black circle 27a indicates the luminance of the projection surface lower left corner,black circle 27 b indicates the luminance of the projection surfaceupper left corner, black circle 27 c indicates the luminance of theprojection surface upper right corner, and black circle 27 d indicatesthe luminance of the projection surface lower right corner. From amongblack circles 27 a to 27 d, the luminance of black circle 27 d is thesmallest. Therefore, projection surface maximum luminance 27 e shown bythe broken line is set to the luminance of black circle 27 d.

FIG. 21B schematically shows the luminance of the four corners of theprojection surface of the projector PJ2 and the maximum luminance of theprojection surface. In FIG. 21B, the luminance of the four corners ofthe projection surface is indicated by a black circle, the projectionsurface maximum luminance is indicated by a broken line. Black circle 28a indicates the luminance of the projection surface lower left corner,black circle 28 b indicates the luminance of the projection surfaceupper left corner, black circle 28 c indicates the luminance of theprojection surface upper right corner, and black circle 28 d indicatesthe luminance of the projection surface lower right corner. From amongblack circles 28 a to 28 d, the luminance of black circle 28 b is thesmallest. Therefore, projection surface maximum luminance 28 e shown bythe broken line is set to the luminance of black circle 28 b.

FIG. 21C shows schematically the maximum luminance of the totalprojection surface when the stack display is performed. In FIG. 21C, theluminance of the four corners of the projection surface is indicated bya black circle, the total projection surface maximum luminance isindicated by a broken line. Black circle 29 a indicates the luminance ofthe projection surface lower left corner, black circle 29 b indicatesthe luminance of the projection surface upper left corner, black circle29 c indicates the luminance of the projection surface upper rightcorner, and black circle 29 d indicates the luminance of the projectionsurface lower right corner. The luminance of black circle 29 a is avalue obtained by adding the luminance of black circle 28 a shown inFIG. 21B to the luminance of black circle 27 a shown in FIG. 21A. Theluminance of black circle 29 b is a value obtained by adding theluminance of black circle 28 b shown in FIG. 21B to the luminance ofblack circle 27 b shown in FIG. 21A. The luminance of black circle 29 cis a value obtained by adding the luminance of black circle 28 c shownin FIG. 21B to the luminance of black circle 27 c shown in FIG. 21A. Theluminance of black circle 29 d is a value obtained by adding theluminance of black circle 28 d shown in FIG. 21B to the luminance ofblack circle 27 d shown in FIG. 21A. From among black circles 29 a to 29d, the luminance of black circle 29 d is the smallest. Therefore, totalprojection surface maximum luminance 29 f indicated by the broken lineis set to the luminance of black circle 29 d.

In FIG. 21c , the frame shown by a dotted line is the projection surfacemaximum luminance 29 e shown in FIG. 15C. Total projection surfacemaximum luminance 29 f is larger than projection surface maximumluminance 29 e.

Control unit 20 of the main projector creates a tone map according tothe total projection surface maximum luminance according to theprocedure described in the second example embodiment (for example, aprocedure for creating a tone map in FIG. 13D or FIG. 14D). Then,control unit 20 creates, from the tone map corresponding to the totalprojection surface maximum luminance, a tone map of the four corners ofeach of the main projector and the sub projector at the ratio of thetotal projection surface four corner luminance.

For example, in the example embodiment shown in FIGS. 21A-21C, the tonemaps of the four corners of projector PJ1 (main projector) are createdas follows.

(Tone Map of the Lower Left Corner)

The tone map of the lower left corner is created so that the maximumvalue of the output luminance is to be a value calculated by [totalprojection surface maximum luminance]×[luminance of black circles 27a]÷[luminance of black circles 27 a+luminance of black circles 28 a].

(Tone Map of the Upper Left Corner)

The tone map of the upper left corner is created so that the maximumvalue of the output luminance is to be a value calculated by [totalprojection surface maximum luminance]×[luminance of black circles 27b]÷[luminance of black circles 27 b+luminance of black circles 28 b].

(Tone Map of the Upper Right Corner)

The tone map of the upper right corner is created so that the maximumvalue of the output luminance is to be a value calculated by [totalprojection surface maximum luminance]×[luminance of black circles 27c]÷[luminance of black circles 27 c+luminance of black circles 28 c].

(Tone Map of the Lower Right Corner)

The tone map of the lower right corner of the projector PJ is created sothat the maximum value of the output luminance is to be a valuecalculated by [the total projection surface maximum luminance]×[theluminance of the black circle 27 d]÷[the luminance of the black circle27 d+the luminance of the black circle 28 d].

Further, in the example embodiment shown in FIGS. 21A-21C, the tone mapsof the four corners of projector PJ2 (sub projector) are created asfollows.

(Tone Map of the Lower Left Corner)

The tone map of the lower left corner is created so that the maximumvalue of the output luminance is to be a value calculated by [totalprojection surface maximum luminance]×[luminance of black circles 28a]÷[luminance of black circles 27 a+luminance of black circles 28 a].

(Tone Map of the Upper Left Corner)

The tone map of the upper left corner is created so that the maximumvalue of the output luminance is to be a value calculated by [totalprojection surface maximum luminance]×[luminance of black circles 28b]÷[luminance of black circles 27 b+luminance of black circles 28 b].

(Tone Map of the Upper Right Corner)

The tone map of the upper right corner is created so that the maximumvalue of the output luminance is to be a value calculated by [totalprojection surface maximum luminance]×[luminance of black circles 28c]÷[luminance of black circles 27 c+luminance of black circles 28 c].

(Tone Map of the Lower Right Corner)

The tone map of the lower right corner is created so that the maximumvalue of the output luminance is to be a value calculated by [totalprojection surface maximum luminance]×[luminance of black circles 28d]÷[luminance of black circles 27 d+luminance of black circles 28 d].

When the tone maps of the four corners of each of the main projector andthe sub projector are created as described above, in the main projector,control unit 20 sets the tone maps of the four corners of its ownprojector to 3D tone map unit 23 and transmits the tone maps of the fourcorners to the respective sub projectors via communication control unit6.

In the sub projector, control unit 20 sets the tone maps of the fourcorners of its own projector received from main projector to 3D tone mapunit 23.

In the main projector and the sub projector, 3D tone map unit 23calculates the tone map for each pixel from the tone maps of the fourcorners using the complement, and performs tone mapping (luminancegradation conversion) using each tone map for each pixel of the imagefrom image processing unit 9.

In the main projector and the sub projector, control unit 20 determineswhether or not all of the four maximum luminance values indicated byeach of the tone maps of the four corners are larger than the projectionsurface maximum luminance of the own projector. If all of the fourmaximum luminance values are larger than the projection surface maximumluminance of the own projector, control unit 20 reduces the amount oflight of the light source to be the amount of light to which the value,which is obtained by dividing the maximum value of the four maximumluminance values by the projection surface maximum luminance, ismultiplied.

According to the stack display system described above, by using 3D tonemap unit 23, it is possible to maximize the luminance of the projectionsurface when the stack display is performed.

In the first to fourth example embodiments described above, theoperation or function of the projector (for example, the functions ofsignal processing unit 3, HDR display control unit 5, and communicationcontrol unit 6) may be realized by the computer executing a program.Here, the program may be provided in a computer-usable orcomputer-readable medium, or may be provided over a network such as theInternet. Here, a computer-usable or computer-readable medium is amedium that can record or read out information using magnetic, optical,electronic, electromagnetic, infrared, or the like. Such a mediumincludes, for example, a semiconductor memory, a semiconductor or solidstate storage device, a magnetic tape, a removable computer diskette, arandom access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a magnetic disk,an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, and the like.

The configuration described in the first to fourth example embodimentsdescribed above is an example of the present invention, and changes orimprovements that can be understood by a person skilled in the art canbe applied to the configuration without departing from the spirit of thepresent invention.

All or a part of the first to fourth example embodiments described abovemay also be described as in the following supplementary notes 1-21, butare not limited to these supplementary notes 1-21.

[Supplementary Note 1]

A projector comprising:

a light source;

a spatial light modulator that modulates light from the light source toemit a modulated light;

a signal processing unit that comprises a tone map unit that performs aluminance gradation conversion of an input video data according to atone map indicating a relationship of an output luminance with respectto an input luminance and that drives the spatial light modulator basedon an output video data of the tone map unit;

a projection lens unit that projects the modulated light on a screen;

a luminance acquiring unit that obtains a maximum luminance of aprojection surface of the modulated light; and

a control unit that controls an amount of light of the light source andsets the tone map,

wherein:

when the maximum luminance of the projection surface is equal to orgreater than a first threshold value indicating a maximum luminance ofthe input video data, the control unit sets, to the tone map unit, atone map in which a maximum value of the output luminance is set to bethe first threshold value, and when the maximum luminance of theprojection surface is larger than the first threshold value, the controlunit reduces the amount of light of the light source.

[Supplementary Note 2]

The projector according to Supplementary note 1, wherein the controlunit sets a tone map in which a gamma coefficient is set so that themaximum value of the output luminance is to be the maximum luminance ofthe projection surface when the maximum luminance of the projectionsurface is less than the first threshold value and is equal to orgreater than a second threshold value that is smaller than the firstthreshold value, and sets a gradation characteristic such that an amountof changes in the output luminance is smaller than an amount of changesin input luminance in a predetermined gradation range on a highluminance side of the tone map.

[Supplementary Note 3]

The projector according to Supplementary note 2, wherein the controlunit sets a tone map in which the gamma coefficient is set so that themaximum value of the output luminance is to be the second thresholdvalue when the maximum luminance of the projection surface is less thanthe second threshold value, and sets the gradation characteristic suchthat the amount of changes in the output luminance is smaller than theamount of changes in the input luminance in the predetermined gradationrange on the high luminance side of the tone map.

[Supplementary Note 4]

The projector according to Supplementary note 2, wherein the controlunit sets a tone map having a linear gradation characteristic in whichthe maximum value of the output luminance is set to be the secondthreshold value when the maximum luminance of the projection surface isless than the second threshold value.

[Supplementary Note 5]

The projector according to Supplementary note 3 or 4, wherein the signalprocessing unit comprises:

an information storage unit that stores at least EOTF (Electro-OpticalTransfer Function) information;

an interface unit that is capable of mutually communicating with asource device, supplies the EOTF information stored in the informationstorage unit to the source device and receives a video signal from thesource device;

a video processing unit that receives the video signal from the sourcedevice via the interface unit, performs an EOTF process on the videodata included in the video signal in accordance with the EOTFinformation stored in the information storage unit, and supplies, as theinput video data, the video data after the EOTF process is performed tothe tone map unit.

wherein the control unit stores the EOTF information related to an HDR(High Dynamic Range) display in the information storage unit when themaximum luminance of the projection surface is equal to or greater thanthe second threshold, and stores the EOTF information related to a SDR(Standard Dynamic Range) display in the information storage unit whenthe maximum luminance of the projection surface is less than the secondthreshold.

[Supplementary Note 6]

The projector according to any one of Supplementary notes 3 to 5,wherein the second threshold is twice the maximum value of theintra-frame average luminance of the input video data.

[Supplementary Note 7]

The projector according to any one of Supplementary notes 1 to 6,further comprising:

a light sensor that measures the amount of light of the light source;

a ranging unit that measures the distance from the projection lens unitto the screen; and

a screen characteristic storage unit that stores characteristic dataindicating a gain distribution of exit light with respect to incidentlight for each of a plurality of screens,

wherein the luminance acquiring unit acquires characteristic data of thescreen specified by a user from the screen characteristic storage unit,and calculates the maximum luminance of the projection surface based onthe obtained characteristic data, the amount of light of the lightsource measured by the light sensor, and the distance measured by theranging unit.

[Supplementary Note 8]

The projector according to Supplementary note 7,

wherein the projection lens unit comprises a zoom lens unit that isconfigured to move at least a port of lenses in the optical axisdirection,

wherein the luminance acquiring unit calculates the maximum luminance ofthe projection surface based on the characteristic data of the screenspecified by a user, the amount of light of the light source measured bythe light sensor, the distance measured by the ranging unit, and thezoom position indicating a position of the at least a part of lenses inthe optical axis direction.

[Supplementary Note 9]

The projector according to Supplementary note 8,

wherein the projection lens unit further comprises a lens shift unitthat moves a lens group in a direction perpendicular to the opticalaxis,

wherein the luminance acquiring unit includes:

a lens shift luminance coefficient storage unit that stores acoefficient of luminance attenuation of the projection surfacecorresponding to the movement direction and the movement amount of thelens group;

a projection surface coordinate calculation unit that calculates thecoordinates of the four corners of the projection surface based on themoving direction and the movement amount of the lens group, the zoomposition, and the distance measured by the ranging unit;

a projection light amount calculation unit that calculates the amount ofprojected light obtained by multiplying the amount of light of the lightsource measured by the light sensor by a predetermined gain;

a projection surface incident luminance calculation unit that acquiresthe coefficient of luminance attenuation corresponding to the movementdirection and the movement amount of the lens group from the lens shiftluminance coefficient storage unit and that calculates incidentluminance at the four corners of the projection surface based on theobtained coefficient, the coordinates of the four corners of theprojection surface calculated by the projection surface coordinatecalculation unit, and the amount of the projected light calculated bythe projection light amount calculation unit;

a screen gain calculation unit that calculates the incident angle on thefour corners of the projection surface based on the coordinates of thefour corners of the projection surface calculated by the projectionsurface coordinate calculation unit and that calculates the gain of exitlight from the four corners based on the incident angle of the fourcorners and the characteristic data of the screen specified by a user;and

a projection surface exit luminance calculation unit that calculates theluminance of the four corners of the projection surface based on theincident luminance to the four corners of the projection surfacecalculated by the projection surface incident luminance calculation unitand the gain at the four corners of the projection surface calculated bythe screen gain calculation unit,

wherein the maximum luminance of the projection surface is the smallestvalue from among the luminance values of the four corners of theprojection surface calculated by the projection surface exit luminancecalculation uni.

[Supplementary Note 10]

The projector according to Supplementary note 9, wherein the signalprocessing unit further includes:

a distortion correction data storage unit that stores the distortioncorrection data for correcting the distortion of the projected imagecaused according to the angle formed between the screen and the lenscenter axis of the projection lens unit; and

-   -   a distortion correcting unit that performs distortion correction        based on the distortion correction data with respect to the        output video data of the tone map unit,    -   wherein the projection surface coordinate calculation unit        calculates the coordinates of the four corners of the projection        surface based on the movement direction and movement amount of        the lens group, the zoom position, the distance measured by the        ranging unit, and the distortion correction data.        [Supplementary Note 11]

The projector according to Supplementary note 9 or 10, wherein thesignal processing unit further includes a projection surface luminancecorrection unit that adjusts the gain of each pixel of the output videodata of the tone map unit according to the luminance correctioncoefficient for correcting the non-uniformity of the luminance of theprojection surface,

wherein the control unit generates the luminance correction coefficientbased on the luminance values of the four corners of the projectionsurface calculated by the projection surface exit luminance calculationunit.

[Supplementary Note 12]

The projector according to any one of Supplementary notes 1 to 11,wherein the luminance acquiring unit calculates the luminance at aplurality of points on the projection surface of the modulated lightaccording to the projection state, and sets the smallest value fromamong the luminance value of each point as the maximum luminance of theprojection surface.

[Supplementary Note 13]

The projector according to any one of Supplementary notes 1 to 12,further comprising a communication unit that mutually communicates withat least one other projector,

wherein the control unit acquires, via the communication unit,information relating to the maximum luminance of the projection surfaceobtained by the another projector, and creates a tone map of each of theown projector and the another projector based on information relating tothe maximum luminance of the projection surface obtained by the ownprojector and the information relating to the maximum luminance of theprojection surface obtained from the another projector.

[Supplementary Note 14]

The projector according to Supplementary note 13, wherein the controlunit acquires the maximum luminance of the projection surface from theanother projector, calculates a total maximum luminance obtained bysumming the maximum luminance of the projection surface obtained by theown projector and the maximum luminance of the projection surfaceobtained from the another projector, and creates a tone map of each ofthe own projector and the another projector based on the total maximumluminance and the ratio of the maximum luminance of the projectionsurface to the total maximum luminance of each of the own projector andthe another projector.

[Supplementary Note 15]

The projector according to Supplementary note 13, wherein the controlunit acquires the luminance of the four corners of the projectionsurface from the another projector; calculates a total four cornermaximum luminance obtained by summing, for each of the four corners, theluminance of the four corners of the projection surface acquired by theown projector and the luminance of the four corners of the projectionsurface acquired from the another projector; sets, as the projectionsurface maximum luminance, a smallest value of the maximum luminance ofeach corner of the total four corner maximum luminance; and creates atone map of the four corners of each of the own projector and theanother projector based on the projection surface maximum luminance andthe ratio of the luminance of each corner of the projection surface tothe maximum luminance of each corner of the total four corner maximumluminance of each of the own projector and the another projector.

[Supplementary Note 16]

The projector according to Supplementary note 15, wherein the tone mapunit calculates a tone map for each pixel of the input video data basedon the tone maps of four corners of the own projector, and performs aluminance gradation conversion using a corresponding tone map for eachpixel.

[Supplementary Note 17]

A stack display system comprising a main projector and at least one subprojector, each comprising the projector according to any one ofSupplementary notes 1 to 5, wherein the main projector and the subprojector project overlap and project images of each other on a screen,

wherein a control unit of the main projector acquires informationrelating to a maximum luminance of a projection surface acquired by thesub projector and creates a tone map of each of its own projector andthe sub projector based on information relating to the maximum luminanceof the projection surface acquired by the own projector and informationrelating to the maximum luminance of the projection surface acquiredfrom the sub projector.

[Supplementary Note 18]

The stack display system according to Supplementary note 17, wherein thecontrol unit of the main projector acquires the maximum luminance of theprojection surface from the sub projector, calculates a total maximumluminance by summing the maximum luminance of the projection surfaceobtained by the own projector and the maximum luminance of theprojection surface obtained from the sub projector, and creates a tonemap of each of the own projector and the sub projector based on thetotal maximum luminance and the ratio of the maximum luminance of theprojection surface to the total maximum luminance of each of the ownprojector and the sub projector.

[Supplementary Note 19]

The stack display system according to Supplementary note 17, wherein thecontrol unit of the main projector acquires the luminance of the fourcorners of the projection surface from the sub projector; calculates atotal four corner maximum luminance obtained by summing, for each of thefour corners, the luminance of the four corners of the projectionsurface acquired by the own projector and the luminance of the fourcorners of the projection surface acquired from the sub projector; sets,as the projection surface maximum luminance, a smallest value of themaximum luminance of each corner of the total four corner maximumluminance; and creates a tone map of the four corners of each of the ownprojector and the sub projector based on the projection surface maximumluminance and the ratio of the luminance of each corner of theprojection surface to the maximum luminance of each corner of the totalfour corner maximum luminance of each of the own projector and the subprojector.

[Supplementary Note 20]

A video display method performed by a projector that includes a spatiallight modulator that modulates light from a light source to emit amodulated light and a tone map unit that performs a luminance gradationconversion of an input video data according to a tone map indicating arelationship of an output luminance with respect to an input luminance,the projector being configured to drive the spatial light modulatorbased on an output video data of the tone map unit and to project themodulated light on a screen, the method comprising:

obtaining a maximum luminance of a projection surface of the modulatedlight;

when the maximum luminance of the projection surface is equal to orgreater than a first threshold value indicating a maximum luminance ofthe input video data, setting, to the tone map unit, a tone map in whicha maximum value of the input luminance is set to be the first thresholdvalue; and

when the maximum luminance of the projection surface is larger than thefirst threshold value, reducing an amount of light of the light source.

[Supplementary Note 21]

A program that is executed by a computer of a projector that includes aspatial light modulator that modulates light from a light source to emita modulated light and a tone map unit that performs a luminancegradation conversion of an input video data according to a tone mapindicating a relationship of an output luminance with respect to aninput luminance, the projector being configured to drive the spatiallight modulator based on an output video data of the tone map unit andto project the modulated light on a screen, the program causing thecomputer to execute the steps of:

obtaining a maximum luminance of a projection surface of the modulatedlight;

when the maximum luminance of the projection surface is equal to orgreater than a first threshold value indicating a maximum luminance ofthe input video data, setting, to the tone map unit, a tone map in whicha maximum value of the input luminance is set to be the first thresholdvalue; and

when the maximum luminance of the projection surface is larger than thefirst threshold value, reducing an amount of light of the light source.

EXPLANATION OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

-   30 Control unit-   31 Light source-   32 Spatial light modulator-   33 Projection lens unit-   34 Luminance acquiring unit-   35 Tone map unit-   36 Signal processing unit-   37 Screen

The invention claimed is:
 1. A projector comprising: a light source; aspatial light modulator that modulates light from said light source toemit a modulated light; a signal processing unit that comprises a tonemap unit that performs a luminance gradation conversion of an inputvideo data according to a tone map indicating a relationship of anoutput luminance with respect to an input luminance and that drives saidspatial light modulator based on an output video data of said tone mapunit; a projection lens unit that projects the modulated light on ascreen; a luminance acquiring unit that obtains a maximum luminance of aprojection surface of the modulated light; and a control unit thatcontrols an amount of light of said light source and sets the tone map,wherein: when the maximum luminance of the projection surface is equalto or greater than a first threshold value indicating a maximumluminance of the input video data, said control unit sets, to said tonemap unit, a tone map in which a maximum value of the output luminance isset to be the first threshold value, and when the maximum luminance ofthe projection surface is larger than the first threshold value, saidcontrol unit reduces the amount of light of said light source.
 2. Theprojector according to claim 1, wherein said control unit sets a tonemap in which a gamma coefficient is set so that the maximum value of theoutput luminance is to be the maximum luminance of the projectionsurface when the maximum luminance of the projection surface is lessthan the first threshold value and is equal to or greater than a secondthreshold value that is smaller than the first threshold value, and setsa gradation characteristic such that an amount of changes in the outputluminance is smaller than an amount of changes in input luminance in apredetermined gradation range on a high luminance side of the tone map.3. The projector according to claim 2, wherein said control unit sets atone map in which the gamma coefficient is set so that the maximum valueof the output luminance is to be the second threshold value when themaximum luminance of the projection surface is less than the secondthreshold value, and sets the gradation characteristic such that theamount of changes in the output luminance is smaller than the amount ofchanges in the input luminance in the predetermined gradation range onthe high luminance side of the tone map.
 4. The projector according toclaim 3, wherein said signal processing unit comprises: an informationstorage unit that stores at least EOTF (Electro-Optical TransferFunction) information; an interface unit that is capable of mutuallycommunicating with a source device, supplies the EOTF information storedin said information storage unit to said source device and receives avideo signal from said source device; a video processing unit thatreceives the video signal from said source device via said interfaceunit, performs an EOTF process on the video data included in the videosignal in accordance with the EOTF information stored in saidinformation storage unit, and supplies, as the input video data, thevideo data after the EOTF process is performed to said tone map unit,wherein said control unit stores the EOTF information related to an HDR(High Dynamic Range) display in said information storage unit when themaximum luminance of the projection surface is equal to or greater thanthe second threshold, and stores the EOTF information related to a SDR(Standard Dynamic Range) display in said information storage unit whenthe maximum luminance of the projection surface is less than the secondthreshold.
 5. The projector according to claim 3, wherein the secondthreshold is twice a maximum value of an intra-frame average luminanceof the input video data.
 6. The projector according to claim 2, whereinsaid control unit sets a tone map having a linear gradationcharacteristic in which the maximum value of the output luminance is setto be the second threshold value when the maximum luminance of theprojection surface is less than the second threshold value.
 7. Theprojector according to claim 6, wherein said signal processing unitcomprises: an information storage unit that stores at least EOTF(Electro-Optical Transfer Function) information; an interface unit thatis capable of mutually communicating with a source device, supplies theEOTF information stored in said information storage unit to said sourcedevice and receives a video signal from said source device; a videoprocessing unit that receives the video signal from said source devicevia said interface unit, performs an EOTF process on the video dataincluded in the video signal in accordance with the EOTF informationstored in said information storage unit, and supplies, as the inputvideo data, the video data after the EOTF process is performed to saidtone map unit, wherein said control unit stores the EOTF informationrelated to an HDR (High Dynamic Range) display in said informationstorage unit when the maximum luminance of the projection surface isequal to or greater than the second threshold, and stores the EOTFinformation related to a SDR (Standard Dynamic Range) display in saidinformation storage unit when the maximum luminance of the projectionsurface is less than the second threshold.
 8. A stack display systemcomprising a main projector and at least one sub projector, eachcomprising the projector according to claim 1, wherein the mainprojector and the sub projector project overlap and project images ofeach other on a screen, wherein a control unit of said main projectoracquires information relating to a maximum luminance of a projectionsurface acquired by said sub projector and creates a tone map of each ofits own projector and said sub projector based on information relatingto the maximum luminance of the projection surface acquired by the ownprojector and information relating to the maximum luminance of theprojection surface acquired from said sub projector.
 9. The stackdisplay system according to claim 8, wherein said control unit of saidmain projector acquires the maximum luminance of the projection surfacefrom said sub projector, calculates a total maximum luminance by summingthe maximum luminance of the projection surface obtained by the ownprojector and the maximum luminance of the projection surface obtainedfrom said sub projector, and creates a tone map of each of the ownprojector and the sub projector based on the total maximum luminance andthe ratio of the maximum luminance of the projection surface to thetotal maximum luminance of each of the own projector and the subprojector.
 10. The stack display system according to claim 8, whereinsaid control unit of said main projector acquires the luminance of thefour corners of the projection surface from said sub projector;calculates a total four corner maximum luminance obtained by summing,for each of the four corners, the luminance of the four corners of theprojection surface acquired by the own projector and the luminance ofthe four corners of the projection surface acquired from said subprojector; sets, as the projection surface maximum luminance, a smallestvalue of the maximum luminance of each corner of the total four cornermaximum luminance; and creates a tone map of the four corners of each ofthe own projector and said sub projector based on the projection surfacemaximum luminance and the ratio of the luminance of each corner of theprojection surface to the maximum luminance of each corner of the totalfour corner maximum luminance of each of the own projector and said subprojector.
 11. The projector according to claim 1, further comprising: alight sensor that measures the amount of light of said light source; aranging unit that measures a distance from said projection lens unit tosaid screen; and a screen characteristic storage unit that storescharacteristic data indicating a gain distribution of exit light withrespect to incident light for each of a plurality of screens, whereinsaid luminance acquiring unit acquires characteristic data of a screenspecified by a user from said screen characteristic storage unit, andcalculates the maximum luminance of the projection surface based on theobtained characteristic data, the amount of light of said light sourcemeasured by said light sensor, and the distance measured by said rangingunit.
 12. The projector according to claim 11, wherein said projectionlens unit comprises a zoom lens unit that is configured to move at leasta port of lenses in the optical axis direction, wherein said luminanceacquiring unit calculates the maximum luminance of the projectionsurface based on the characteristic data of the screen specified by auser, the amount of light of said light source measured by said lightsensor, the distance measured by said ranging unit, and the zoomposition indicating a position of the at least a part of lenses in theoptical axis direction.
 13. The projector according to claim 12, whereinsaid projection lens unit further comprises a lens shift unit that movesa lens group in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis, whereinsaid luminance acquiring unit includes: a lens shift luminancecoefficient storage unit that stores a coefficient of luminanceattenuation of the projection surface corresponding to a movementdirection and a movement amount of the lens group; a projection surfacecoordinate calculation unit that calculates the coordinates of the fourcorners of the projection surface based on the moving direction and themovement amount of the lens group, the zoom position, and the distancemeasured by said ranging unit; a projection light amount calculationunit that calculates an amount of projected light obtained bymultiplying the amount of light of said light source measured by saidlight sensor by a predetermined gain; a projection surface incidentluminance calculation unit that acquires the coefficient of luminanceattenuation corresponding to the movement direction and the movementamount of the lens group from said lens shift luminance coefficientstorage unit and that calculates incident luminance at the four cornersof the projection surface based on the obtained coefficient, thecoordinates of the four corners of the projection surface calculated bysaid projection surface coordinate calculation unit, and the amount ofthe projected light calculated by said projection light amountcalculation unit; a screen gain calculation unit that calculates anincident angle on the four corners of the projection surface based onthe coordinates of the four corners of the projection surface calculatedby said projection surface coordinate calculation unit and thatcalculates the gain of exit light from the four corners based on theincident angle of the four corners and the characteristic data of thescreen specified by a user; and a projection surface exit luminancecalculation unit that calculates the luminance of the four corners ofthe projection surface based on the incident luminance to the fourcorners of the projection surface calculated by said projection surfaceincident luminance calculation unit and the gain at the four corners ofthe projection surface calculated by said screen gain calculation unit,wherein the maximum luminance of the projection surface is the smallestvalue from among the luminance values of the four corners of theprojection surface calculated by said projection surface exit luminancecalculation uni.
 14. The projector according to claim 13, wherein saidsignal processing unit further includes: a distortion correction datastorage unit that stores a distortion correction data for correcting adistortion of a projected image caused according to an angle formedbetween the screen and a lens center axis of said projection lens unit;and a distortion correcting unit that performs distortion correctionbased on the distortion correction data with respect to an output videodata of said tone map unit, wherein said projection surface coordinatecalculation unit calculates the coordinates of the four corners of theprojection surface based on the movement direction and movement amountof the lens group, the zoom position, the distance measured by saidranging unit, and the distortion correction data.
 15. The projectoraccording to claim 13, wherein said signal processing unit furtherincludes a projection surface luminance correction unit that adjusts again of each pixel of an output video data of said tone map unitaccording to a luminance correction coefficient for correcting anon-uniformity of the luminance of the projection surface, wherein saidcontrol unit generates the luminance correction coefficient based on theluminance values of the four corners of the projection surfacecalculated by said projection surface exit luminance calculation unit.16. The projector according to claim 1, wherein said luminance acquiringunit calculates the luminance at a plurality of points on the projectionsurface of the modulated light according to the projection state, andsets the smallest value from among the luminance value of each point asthe maximum luminance of the projection surface.
 17. The projectoraccording to claim 1, further comprising a communication unit thatmutually communicates with at least one other projector, wherein saidcontrol unit acquires, via said communication unit, information relatingto the maximum luminance of the projection surface obtained by saidanother projector, and creates a tone map of each of the own projectorand said another projector based on information relating to the maximumluminance of the projection surface obtained by the own projector andthe information relating to the maximum luminance of the projectionsurface obtained from said another projector.
 18. The projectoraccording to claim 17, wherein said control unit acquires the maximumluminance of the projection surface from said another projector,calculates a total maximum luminance obtained by summing the maximumluminance of the projection surface obtained by the own projector andthe maximum luminance of the projection surface obtained from saidanother projector, and creates a tone map of each of the own projectorand said another projector based on the total maximum luminance and theratio of the maximum luminance of the projection surface to the totalmaximum luminance of each of the own projector and said anotherprojector.
 19. The projector according to claim 17, wherein said controlunit acquires the luminance of the four corners of the projectionsurface from said another projector; calculates a total four cornermaximum luminance obtained by summing, for each of the four corners, theluminance of the four corners of the projection surface acquired by theown projector and the luminance of the four corners of the projectionsurface acquired from said another projector; sets, as the projectionsurface maximum luminance, a smallest value of the maximum luminance ofeach corner of the total four corner maximum luminance; and creates atone map of the four corners of each of the own projector and saidanother projector based on the projection surface maximum luminance andthe ratio of the luminance of each corner of the projection surface tothe maximum luminance of each corner of the total four corner maximumluminance of each of the own projector and said another projector.
 20. Avideo display method performed by a projector that includes a spatiallight modulator that modulates light from a light source to emit amodulated light and a tone map unit that performs a luminance gradationconversion of an input video data according to a tone map indicating arelationship of an output luminance with respect to an input luminance,said projector being configured to drive said spatial light modulatorbased on an output video data of said tone map unit and to project themodulated light on a screen, said method comprising: obtaining a maximumluminance of a projection surface of the modulated light; when themaximum luminance of the projection surface is equal to or greater thana first threshold value indicating a maximum luminance of the inputvideo data, setting, to said tone map unit, a tone map in which amaximum value of the input luminance is set to be the first thresholdvalue; and when the maximum luminance of the projection surface islarger than the first threshold value, reducing an amount of light ofsaid light source.
 21. A non-transitory computer-readable recordingmedium recorded with a program that is executed by a computer of aprojector that includes a spatial light modulator that modulates lightfrom a light source to emit a modulated light and a tone map unit thatperforms a luminance gradation conversion of an input video dataaccording to a tone map indicating a relationship of an output luminancewith respect to an input luminance, said projector being configured todrive said spatial light modulator based on an output video data of saidtone map unit and to project the modulated light on a screen, saidprogram causing the computer to execute: obtaining a maximum luminanceof a projection surface of the modulated light; when the maximumluminance of the projection surface is equal to or greater than a firstthreshold value indicating a maximum luminance of the input video data,setting, to said tone map unit, a tone map in which a maximum value ofthe input luminance is set to be the first threshold value; and when themaximum luminance of the projection surface is larger than the firstthreshold value, reducing an amount of light of said light source.